


Brilliance

by PhoenixPhaedrana



Series: The New Chapter [3]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Both of them, Canon, Fluff, tw-self harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-22 16:07:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21304817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixPhaedrana/pseuds/PhoenixPhaedrana
Summary: Feathers has a (major) minor breakdown, and does something he immediately regrets.
Series: The New Chapter [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1509998
Kudos: 1





	1. Broken

**Author's Note:**

> Hewwo this is your friendly disclaimer that this fic has self harm in it. Please be safe, people

Feathers rushed into the room, barely noticing the beautiful, serene nature of the koi pond with its garden. He stopped, panting in front of the rock.  _ His _ rock. The memorial of the one who had deserved to live. He half collapsed to his knees in front of it. He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around himself. 

_ He deserves this, not me. I keep f**king things up! He was so strong, so motivated, positive… he was everything I can’t be! All that’s going to happen… they’re going to die… they’re going to f**king die because I can’t protect them! _

He sobbed. Eclipse tried to say something, but he shut her out, silencing her. He felt like something was wrapping around his ribcage, squeezing tighter, forcing the air from him. He tried to breathe deeply, to force himself to calm down. 

_ I don’t deserve happiness… he should be here… I should be the one dead. _ This mantra kept repeating endlessly in his mind… it wouldn’t stop… he couldn’t stop it. Pain seared through his left arm as his wickedly sharp talons cut into the bone. He hadn’t meant to harm himself, but now… he didn’t pull away. He cut deeper.

“Hello?” It wasn’t a voice he recognized, but it cut through his consciousness. He startled. 

_ What the f**k am I doing? No, no no… I promised myself… I promised  _ ** _them_ ** _ that I wouldn’t do anything like this… Why do I always f**k everything up like this?  _

“Wh-who’s there?” He wished his voice didn’t shake so much. He needed to get to the medical room before anyone noticed he was hurt.

“Hey, calm down, it’s me. You should turn around and see for yourself.”

He did, letting go of his arm, he turned around and saw…  _ f**k. _

“D-Doll… you look… different.” It was true. His friend was dressed in a completely different outfit than he had been only earlier that day. There was also a different air about him, a sort of confidence he had been completely lacking earlier.

“I know, right? I came back from a long adventure of seventeen y- Uh, am I bothering you?” Doll’s expression turned to one of worry and he stepped closer. Feathers felt his soul lurch in his chest and he stepped back.

“N-no I just… I-I’m not…” He didn’t know what to say… Part of him wanted Doll to leave… but another and significant part of him screamed for help. For someone he trusted to pull him out of the abyss he knew he was sinking into. He clutched his arm with his right hand, trying to stop the blood from being visible. His friend’s expression turned to one of fear, fear for him. 

_ Why I don’t deserve that why- _ Doll stepped away, hands raised in the air. Feathers’ eyes slid away guiltily.

“I-I’m sorry Doll… I’m just, t-taking care of something.” He tightened his grip on his injured arm, careful not to pierce the bone again.

“Uh, I didn’t intend to… interrupt you. Should I, uh, go or stay?” He heard Doll shift position slightly, but still wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“...I- go. I’ll f-find you later, I just… need a minute…” He made his choice. The thought of worrying, of hurting Doll or Ibiscus made him sick. Maybe he could find someone to talk to if he really was that much of a danger to himself. He glanced back at Doll in time to see his friend staring, wide-eyed, at his arm where, unnoticed by himself, blood was finally seeping through his coat and past his fingers.

“You’re bleeding…” Doll slowly lowered his arms, his eyes fixated on Feathers’ arm.

“I-I’m… y-yeah, a little… it’s no big deal. I was… just going to head to the medical room to get a bandage…”

“When did you..?”

“I… I just cu- I-” He’d been about to tell the truth… but he couldn't. He couldn’t tell his friend how badly he had failed him. He had somehow fooled them all into loving him, and now that was going to disappear like mist. Somewhere in his mind, Eclipse stirred again. 

_ _ _ “Remember what Ibiscus said? ‘No reason would be good enough for me to leave you’. Just trust their word a little!”  _ But he continued to ignore her, even though he knew she was right.

“Did you hurt yourself?” Doll’s voice was full of concern.

“I didn’t- I didn’t really- m-mean to… not this b-badly I-” Again, his eyes dropped to the floor. He felt nauseous, sick with self loathing.

“Is it because you feel guilty about…” Doll trailed off, but Feathers nodded.

“It’s… it’s more than that I- I don’t- I don’t k-know…” And he didn’t. Sure, what had happened to him was awful, but surely that wasn’t enough to push him back to this dark place… was it? He didn’t understand his own feelings… he felt lost in the tempest of them.  _ Drowned _ beneath their waves.

“...Hey, you should tell someone about it… maybe Ibiscus? They could help?” Doll’s voice sounded uncertain. He didn’t know what to do. Feathers didn’t either.

“I-I don’t… I don’t want them to f-feel any worse…” Even if it meant tearing himself apart, he would do anything he could to avoid failing them like that. He had already failed them twice… surely there was a limit.

“You’re just making it worse, at least think about them. They will see it one day, and they won’t understand why, and they will feel guilty about it. Parents always feel guilty about not being able to help their children. Do it for them…”

Feathers knew he and Eclipse were right. He felt a longing, a  _ need _ building inside of him to be held in Ibiscus’ arms and pour out his heart to them once more… 

“H-how I… Y-you’re probably right I just… that was a f**king stupid thing to do… I wasn’t thinking…” His eyes finally came up to meet Doll’s. His friend looked relieved that he had submitted to him.

“...let’s clean this up.” Doll gestured to him to move towards the medical room. Feathers nodded, and walked slowly to his side.

“I-I’m sorry…” 

Doll looked at him in a comforting way, like he wanted to show him some kind of gesture of affection. But he only lead the way to the door, never once turning his back on Feathers. He followed, eyes downcast in guilt and shame. He saw that his friend didn’t quite trust him with himself.  _ And well he shouldn’t… _ They soon arrived at the medical room.

“Th-thanks Doll… I… I don’t know wh-what I was thinking…” 

“You’re welcome.” His friend rummaged through the drawers and pulled out various healing items.

“Why wouldn’t I help? You’re like a brother to me.” 

_ A brother? Doll considered  _ ** _him_ ** _ a brother? He was a broken mess of a person… how could he ever be a brother again?  _

“I’m… sorry…” Sorry for lying. Sorry for hurting himself. Sorry for  _ everything. _ He buried his face in his good arm, crying, unable to hold the tears back. Doll walked back to him and set the medical supplies down on a nearby table. Then, he wrapped his arms around Feathers, hugging him close.

“It’s fine…” his voice broke a little. “I-it’s fine.”

“I-it’s not… I-I’m not… but… why? I… hhh, I have everything…” he was frustrated… so frustrated that he couldn’t let himself be happy. Doll didn’t answer, but his eyes were full of pain as he watched the other suffering like this.

“I just… I don’t understand… I  _ can’t _ feel like this but…” He couldn’t  _ let  _ himself feel like this. People who got a second chance don’t just… throw it away like he had tried to. He leaned down a little, resting his head on Doll’s shoulder.

“W-we should probably get this fixed up… I… Doll… I don’t kn-know what to say other than I’m sorry…” He was sorry. He was in an agony of regret and uncertainty.

“Th-then just stay quiet and hug back… Even if it’s not for long.” Doll’s voice trembled as he spoke and Feathers obeyed. There wasn’t any more to say. After a few moments of silence, Doll was the first to speak.

“Feeling better?”

“A… a little.” Feathers’ eyes closed as he cuddled Doll. “I n-never want to feel like that again… I-I’m scared.” Scared of not being in control of himself. Scared that he might not be able to stop himself from doing something truly awful.

“Only a little? Don’t you realize that you have a personal talking plush? Not everyone has this chance!”

“Ehe, yeah, I guess I am pretty lucky. Doll… I don’t know… h-how am I supposed to tell Ibiscus about this? Y-you said I should, and I believe you, but…”

“Just tell them? I mean, at the right moment, bring the subject up? Sorry, I just can’t help on that. You know I’m bad at this kind of thing.” Doll sounded guilty. He had no reason to feel that way.

“I… Ok… I-it’s alright, I just… Haha, what am I supposed to say to them? I’ve… never had to deal with this kind of thing before.” In the Underground, it had been simple. Seek out Asgore and tell him he’d had a fight with Flowey, get healed, and that was that. He hadn’t had to confide in anyone… he didn’t even have scars to show for the previous occasions.

“Me neither…” Doll slowly released his hold on him and turned to the first aid supplies. “I’m terribly bad at helping with that.”

“O-ok… w-will you at least come with me..? I… I d-don’t think I can do this on my own…” He wasn’t strong enough.

“Of course I’ll come with you if you want.” Doll walked to his side, holding a cotton disc. “Can you show me your arm?” Feathers shifted, pulling his arm out of the coat sleeve so Doll could have easy access to the injury. He hissed in pain as he did so.

“Let’s clean it and see.” It took two discs to clear most of the blood away from the wound. There were five clean scratch marks in the bone. They weren’t long, but fairly deep. It wasn’t as bad as Feathers had suspected. The bone hadn’t splintered or fractured at all outside of the cuts.

“It might hurt a bit, sorry about that.” Doll held his arm steady and used a third cotton disc to clean the wound with disinfectant. Feathers hissed once, and then bit his tongue to stop from hissing again.

“N-not your fault…” 

Doll retrieved the bandage roll.

“You good?”

“...yeah.” 

Doll carefully applied the bandage.

“Here, this should be good for a while.” Doll smiled kindly at him.

“Thanks again. I- just, thank you.”

“No need to thank me, you know. It’s just natural.” He began to put away the materials while Feathers watched.

“So… wh-what now?”

“What do you want to do? Personally, I want to tell you what happened when I was out there, but maybe you don’t want to.”

“That… sounds nice, actually. But maybe somewhere more comfy?”

“Yeah? You may choose since I don’t really remember a lot of this place except for a few memories of us together.”

“How about the pillow room? And… has it really been so long for you?”

“Why not. Is seventeen years short for ya? Because now I’m nineteen years old and that’s a record in the world of plushes.”

“Seventeen years, and you came back here, and still care for me? Why?” It was completely inexplicable to him.

“Because… I can’t explain it! That’s just how it works!” Doll moved to the door, and Feathers stood and followed him.

“I’m even more sorry to throw you into… that so quickly.”

“Nah, it’s fine!”

Feathers didn’t think it was fine, but didn’t say so as they both exited the room.


	2. Timeless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff and an overly emotional angel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok now le terrible angst is over have some adorable fluff.

“I forgot which door leads to the pillow room.” Doll was staring around at the many doors in the hall.

“Right, sorry. It’s that one.” He pointed to a door to the left of the food court.

“Oh yeah, I’m just forgetful. Thanks.” Doll walked to the door and checked and make sure it was empty.

“All the guests left, as far as I know. It’s just you, me, and Ibiscus.”

“Sounds pretty sad… I like other’s company.” 

“Well… I think it might be nice to finally be alone with Ibiscus… Too bad I just had to ruin it.” his voice was bitter as he followed Doll into the room. Doll settled down, making a sort of nest of pillows. He sat on one side, the other obviously intended for Feathers. He obligingly settled next to Doll.

“So… you wanted to tell me what happened? Seventeen years is a long time…”

Doll spent some time talking about his new job. He was guarding some… thing. Even he wasn’t sure what. What Feathers was most happy to hear, however, was that Doll was finally freed from Sludge, the Nightmare who used to possess him sometimes… it had been what had happened in the hall of The Dark Mansion. The reason Doll had failed to save Feathers in his time of need. Feathers felt a weight lift from him as he heard that Doll was free.

“Good, that thing had no place with you. Doll… is it true that you consider me like a brother?” His right hand fiddled with the scarf that always hung around his neck…  _ His _ scarf.

“I do. You’re the one I always dreamt about.” The second half of the last sentence was half mumbled, but Feathers heard him easily.

“Dreamt about?” He turned his gaze on Doll.

“Yeah. I can’t say that my family was the best. One that always refused to feel when I was near, the other trying his best but always ending up ripping something apart, even if it was my arm or something similar. I was somehow alone, you know. Wanting to have someone to spend time with.”

“And you thought of me… How am I any better than that?”

“You’re not like Ghost or Shadow. You stay yourself and don’t try to destroy my arm every time you feel angry. And you’re great. Isn’t that enough?”

“Of course I don’t harm you! You don’t deserve that. And Doll… I’m not great, at least, not by any definition of great I’ve ever heard.” 

Doll’s only reply was to gaze at him until he spoke again.

“Hhh fine. I-if you say so, I guess. I don’t feel great…”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I’m a coward. I can’t face my problems, so I run.”  _ or end up hurting someone. _

“Everyone has failings, and that’s why everyone can be liked.”

“...I guess you, Ibiscus, and a few others have proved that much, at least.”

“Hehehe.” Doll stayed quite a few seconds. “I know that. Even on opposite sides, they do like each other. Most of the threats I have to fight for my job have a side life with their own beloved people. That’s why I try never to kill them.”

“Well Eclipse likes that, at least.” He could feel her approval radiating through him.

“You should try to think from their perspective, though. They are monsters like you after all.”

Feathers rubbed his face with both hands, that nasty uncertainty coming back.

“Doll... I don’t know, it’s confusing. Some people are easy for me to judge… most, in fact. But then there are the few that refuse to fit into those categories.”

“What do you mean?”

“Lucie specifically. Her behaviour…. I fail to be able to place her as either friend or foe and I  _ hate  _ that.”

“Hmm. She’s an exception, sorta.” Doll took his sewing kit out of his pocket and began to sew. It appeared to be a plush of some kind.

“I’m only glad that she decided to take pity on me for some reason…” 

“Means that she has a heart.” That could be true… he remembered the pity in her eyes as she had touched him with healing magic.

“I suppose so, but if that’s the case, why would she stay with someone who tortures people on a whim? Even… even if he just feels frustrated…” He felt something inside of him constrict. He kicked himself internally for bringing  _ that _ into the conversation. It was too soon. Too painful.

“I don’t know. But she’s still a monster and so she deserves life.” 

“If that’s your rule, then what about  _ him _ ? By that argument, he would deserve to live too.”

“He does. It’s called the Moral Rule. He should live to pay for his faults.” There was anger in Doll’s voice at the end of his statement. Feathers felt glad to hear it, to hear that Doll didn’t think he was being unreasonable for hating  _ him _ . But he did realize he was getting frustrated, and Doll didn’t deserve that.

“I- I actually wouldn’t mind that so much… I guess I’d still prefer him dead though, if only so I can finally feel safe…” 

Doll nodded and stayed silent for a few minutes, before setting the half finished plush on his knees and changing the subject. “I’m here to take some time for myself.”

“Can’t say I blame you for wanting a break… Seventeen years is a really long time. Longer than I’ve ever held a job. Uh, could you help me with my sleeve? I kinda ripped it…”

“Of course, let me sew it.” Doll picked up his needle and thread again, selecting a dark brown color. Feathers turned so Doll could reach his sleeve.

“If I’m right, you were two years old when you started? You said you were nineteen before, right?”

Doll began to look over his sleeve, assessing the damage.

“Yep, that’s it.”

“So how the f**k did you work for… eight times your original age before taking a break?”

Doll began to stitch the cloth back together.

“That’s easy. There is no way to measure time where I was. At least not for me, since the inhabitants and the other two guardians can see and feel time. Although, I was never bored.”

“Thanks. And, I guess that’s good, although sometimes excitement isn’t such a good thing.”

“I was not always excited, but constantly occupied with helping others or watching out for something unusual. Sometimes, I had to fight.”

Feathers moved cautiously closer to Doll, searching for affection, but Doll didn’t notice.

“Well, I never enjoyed fighting. I guess maybe I’m not as good at it as I thought. But it seems like you were able to handle things.”

“I’m not very good at it either. I have to rely on tricks in order to keep an advantage.”

Doll returned to his previous project.

“Are you kidding? I saw you in that corridor, you were amazing.” Feathers carefully wrapped his wing around Doll’s slightly smaller form. Even he felt a little surprised about what he was saying, but the compliment was completely genuine.

“...Uh, th-thanks?”

Feathers pulled Doll in for a hug, feeling a wave of emotion wash over him.

“I… I’m glad you’re here… I promise I’ll t-try to be a good brother.”

“Th-thanks… thanks a lot.” His newfound brother hugged him in return.

“Heh… I guess it’s not often people get a totally new chance like that, is it… I’m not going to fail you.”  _ not like I failed him. _

“I..” Doll took a deep breath. “I won’t either.”

He felt as though he could breathe easier with that promise… a promise was a delicate thing, he knew too well, but he still felt his soul lift a little.

“Just… don’t f**king die out there, ok? I’ll try to protect you how I can… but I can’t even protect myself most of the time…”

“It’s obvious that I won’t die!” Doll laughed nervously. “Uh-huh well. I mean, we’re safe here. You could learn how to fight here in order to ‘protect yourself properly’.”

“I-” He thought about it for a few minutes. It was legitimately something he had never considered, but he felt the idea had merit.

“You know, that’s a good idea. I shouldn’t let my fear rule me like this. I guess I never thought it was worth it, since I don’t have a lot of useful battle magic anymore… what I wouldn’t give to be able to summon a blaster again.” He paused, looking at Doll. Doll shrugged.

“Wait, I can create a blaster. Do you remember the paintbrush?” His brother began to search through his pockets

“I think you mentioned it to me when I was trapped, yeah.”

Doll pulled his hand out of his pocket to reveal a paintbrush filled with black liquid.

“I could use it to create a sort of independent blaster.”

“How?”

“I can create almost anything within the limits of the liquid inside. I used it once to create a copy of myself in order to stay safe… but it was empty after that.”

“Like a decoy? That’s… pretty cool. I guess you refilled it at some point?”

“Using a bit of my own vital liquid and some paint, yeah.”

“What’s vital liquid?”

“Don’t you remember when I used my needle to pierce my chest that day?” 

Feathers thought about it for a minute. He thought he remembered Doll doing something of the sort a few days prior, but he couldn’t remember very well.

“Oh… I think so… Do you just not have pain receptors?”

“I feel the pain but… not in the same way as you. It’s always in my chest when I feel it, and I can ignore it.”

“Oh, well good. Still, that looked like it would hurt like hell.”

“It did hehe.”

“Then don’t do it!” His reaction was immediate. He didn’t want his new brother to hurt himself like that.

“Yeah, that’s why most of the time I prefer not to empty the paintbrush. So I can reuse the lasting liquid in it to make a refill.”

“Good. I… I don’t want you to do something for me that’s going to cause you pain like that.” Having a personal blaster would give him much more security, but he considered that cost too high to even think about.

“Understandable.” Doll smiled kindly at him. Silence fell for a moment, Feathers finally breaking it.

“Wow today has been… a lot to take in so far.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just… recap; Ibiscus is being weird, Ellie offered to protect me, which, while sweet, isn’t… exactly practical. I had a panic attack and… you know. And then you come in after apparently being away seventeen years and call me your brother.” Ibiscus had, in fact, been significantly more animilastic than normal that morning, even going so far as to try to eat Doll’s leg. Feathers wouldn’t admit it, but it scared the hell out of him.

“Sounds like the usual to me…”

“Oh gosh I hope not.” After a brief silence, Feathers turned to him once more, fiddling with the sleeve of his coat.

“Hey Doll… have you seen Ibiscus yet? Are they… back to themselves?” His tone was hesitant… he knew what he had to do, but didn’t really want to see them like that again.

“Yep, they were on there way with me, but… I lost them on the way.”

“Good… I just… want to tell them and get it over with. I know logically they won’t hate me or anything, but…” But that fear would always haunt him. That fear that he wasn’t good enough, that he wasn’t all they thought he was. That one day he would let them down just that much more than they could handle.

“Go ahead, I’ll be there.” 

“Thank you… it really does mean a lot to me.” It was true. Having Doll there to support him gave him the courage he needed to tell them what he’d done. He stood up, brushing himself off. 

“You said you met them on the way in?”

“I think I lost them near the hall.” Doll stood up in his turn.

“Alright…” He paused, then walked out the door. Doll followed closely behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FLUFFFFF


	3. Fearless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moar fluff bc Ibiscus is an amazing parent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk what to put here lol. My brain isn't working properly rn.

Feathers looked around the grand hall. He couldn’t see Ibiscus anywhere.

“Ibiscus? Are you here?”

Doll bumped into him from behind, a muffled “Oof- sorry.” audible through his wing fluff.

“It’s ok.” 

Doll didn’t move, liking the feeling of the warm feathers.

“You like them?” Feathers couldn’t keep a smile off his face at the cuddles.

“Yeah.”

Feathers decided that Ibiscus could wait a few minutes. He turned around and sat on the floor, placing Doll on his lap and enveloping them both in his wings.

“I like it like this… it feels safe and good to me.” He smiled at his little brother. Then Doll began to touch his wings, gently smoothing the feathers. He felt that unexplained warmth spread through his body. A little pain in his chest at a memory, yes, but he trusted Doll completely enough to allow him to touch him like this. 

“...Didn’t know you could purr like that…” 

Feathers realized he was.

“Hmm, blame Eclipse.”

“No, it’s cute…” 

“Ahh, thanks…” Feathers felt heat rise a little in his face. Why did people keep calling him cute? He didn’t mind or feel insulted, but it was another of those labels he simply didn’t deserve. Another soft caress from Doll pulled him out of that negative train of thought and he began to purr more forcefully, nuzzling his brother.

“Hmm.” Even though his eyes were closed, Feathers could hear the smile in Doll’s voice. He shifted so that his head was cradled in Doll’s lap, as the other kept cuddling him.

“Mm, this feels nice… thank you for accepting me… I still can’t believe you’d want to be family.”

“Yeah… I can’t believe you accepted me either.” 

Feathers glanced up in disbelief at Doll’s words

“Why wouldn’t I accept you? I don’t deserve you as a brother, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to reject you!”

“Why do you think you don’t deserve me..?”

“I just… Well, I’m a mess… I don’t see anything good in myself. I feel like you and Ibiscus are just making a pointless sacrifice by choosing to love me.” He felt that brokenness inside himself. He was aware of it, he always had been, and he just couldn’t understand why they chose to be around him rather than reject him… he himself thought they should, deep inside, even if that was the last thing he wanted.

“That’s not true… you’re dedicated to the ones you love.”

“Maybe, but I’ve never been enough… I’ve never been able to save my loved ones when they were in danger… Even when I do somehow succeed in what I want to do, it goes wrong somehow… The only one I ever succeeded in protecting immediately turned and betrayed me.” He felt the familiar aching in him, for the life he could never have because of  _ her _ . The way Asgore would look at him whenever they met… call him by his other name… he hoped she burned in hell.

“You know what? Everything we failed to do is in the past.” Doll’s voice was confident.

“You feel like you failed your brother. But first, that’s not true, I’m sure of it. Second, you have to move on now. Don’t let it consume you. You have a family and we’re here for you.”

Feathers felt tears welling in his eyes.

“I-I know… I-I’m trying… b-but it keeps…” He turned away from Doll a little so that his brother couldn’t see him cry. “It keeps coming back t-to me… I’m so scared of failing you like I did him, or failing Ibiscus  _ again. _ ”

“Try harder! Stay determined!” Doll hugged him tight, but Feathers barely noticed. Those two words…  _ Stay determined _ . He knew them. He knew them far, far too well. They repeated endlessly in his mind, an unnatural mantra, something he could never be rid of. It exhausted him, scared him, sometimes. It changed who he was and there was  _ nothing  _ he could do about it. Those two words… they were what had taken everything from him.

“Stay  _ determined _ , right.” He snapped at his brother, his voice bitter. “I can’t help that. I don’t get a f**king choice in  _ that _ .”

“Feathers, I already told you that I don’t have a soul. But I can still be determined. Why can’t you?” 

He didn’t understand. Feathers wanted to lash out at him, but he restrained himself. Doll didn’t know what had happened to him and he knew his anger wasn’t meant for his well meaning brother.

“Doll, it’s not that I can’t be determined, I  _ have  _ to be. Even when I most want to give up, there’s a voice screaming inside of me not to. It overwhelms almost everything, and… it’s not me.”

Doll kept asking questions. He kept answering them, to the best of his ability. He told him the same story he had told Ibiscus before… what had happened to him, why he was the way he was. After he was done, and before Doll could say anything more on the subject, he chanced to see Ibiscus standing in the doorframe, listening in on them.

“Ibiscus… Hi.”

“Hi.” 

Feathers stood and came closer to them.

”Are you feeling yourself again?”

“‘Are you feeling better’ would have been better but yep!”

“Yeah, sorry…” He was distracted, mentally mapping out what he would say.

“I… Ibiscus, I h-have something I need to tell you…”

“Well hum I’m here?” 

Feathers felt Doll’s comforting presence behind him as he stepped up to his parent fully. He drew strength from Doll to keep going, to finally take the plunge.

“I’m sorry I… I h-hurt my-myself… N-not on accident…” He desperately fought back the tears that wanted to cascade down his face. This was so damn scary.

“Oh noooo don’t cry!” They embraced him, lifting him up and holding him tight. He sobbed, face now pressed against their chest.

“I’m so, so sorry… I d-don’t know what came over me I just…”

“Shh, shhh, it’s fine now… you… it’s not your fault if you felt bad.” They gently stroked his back, and a feeling of safety washed through him… he hadn’t felt it this strongly for quite a few days now.

“You’re not angry… I… I’m just so scared…”

“No, I’m not angry… it would be stupid to feel angry because you didn’t feel good, my dear.” They kept cuddling him, and he felt that comfort still moving through him. He knew he should reassure them now…

“I’m… I’m ok, physically now… Doll was there to help me treat the injury… H-he even said he’d like to be my brother.” Despite the tears rolling down his face, he felt like some damn broke inside of him. True joy cascaded through through him, and he smiled through those tears.

“Wha- really?” He felt them move to look at Doll.

“Y-yeah… I don’t understand why, but… I’m just- overwhelmed now. I… I can’t believe I have a family again.”

“That is… really cute!” Ibiscus sounded happy. Feathers was glad, he couldn’t bear to see them sad.

“Err, thanks… I love you, Ibiscus… You too, Doll… Thank you both.”

“I love you too, my children.” Ibiscus scooped Doll up beside him. Feathers felt… he didn’t know. His emotions were a convoluted mix of every emotion, from joy to despair. But… in that mix, there was more happy than sad.

“I can’t believe I have a brother again…” 

Doll didn’t respond, but smiled back.

“It’s… honestly still unreal that all this happened… Haha, how the f**k did I end up with a real family?” He didn’t know, but he didn’t really care. All he cared about was the fact that he  _ did _ have a family… against all odds, someone had found it in their heart to take him in, and then another to be his brother. Yeah, he still had a lot to learn about even having a parent, not remembering his own, but that would come in time. This time, he wouldn’t repeat his mistakes. This time, he would tell his family when he was hurting, or when he was worried. This time, he wouldn’t wander off and take a nap when they most needed him. He would do whatever it took to protect them and give them happiness. No matter the cost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmmmm we'll see about those resolutions, buddy. Idk if you're going to be good at them XD

**Author's Note:**

> I am honestly so proud of my little angel for finding a real family... and hey, Feathers, guess what? You have 2x the family you originally did! Yay!


End file.
